


marvel at flowers you'll have made (my heart is thrilled by the still of your hand)

by trixicbean



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, No Angst, One Shot, SO MUCH FLUFF, Slow Burn, Teacher Dani Clayton, Useless Lesbians, dangerous levels of useless lesbianism, just fluff, you have been warned so much useless lesbianism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:54:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27457570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixicbean/pseuds/trixicbean
Summary: In the Summer of 1987, Dani Clayton moves to the small Northumbrian town of Bly to accept a teaching job. It was a fresh start, something new but then she bumped into a very beautiful curly-haired brunette with an awesome sense of style and her life flips on its head.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 20
Kudos: 187





	marvel at flowers you'll have made (my heart is thrilled by the still of your hand)

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this because i had the idea. thank you to [arden](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/send-me-a-puffalope) who listened to me ramble about this. 
> 
> hope you all enjoy it. 
> 
> (i'm from Northumberland so this was so fun for me to write)

All things considered, the year of 1987 was the best of Dani Clayton’s life. Not because it was fun or stand-out happy but because it was a beginning. It was the beginning of when Dani stopped just existing and started living. Many people say those words are just synonyms, but that’s not true. There’s an important distinction there. When you exist, it’s monotonous and the same, you feel nothing; when you live, it’s exciting and emotional and fun, it’s not always good but it’s never the same. Existence is indifference. Living is brilliance. 

The year of 1987 really began when she moved this small town called Bly in the North of England in July. It lay on the border of Cumbria and Northumberland and just a stone’s throw from the Scottish border. It was a beautiful place, a quaint British town like the ones you read about in the books. In the centre of the small village, on the main road, cars couldn’t even go down the street, instead, it was a cobbled pedestrian road. Once you left that road though it was home after home is winding roads. The homes, some were more modern than others. It was obvious the town’s population had grown in recent years but it was also clear the town had less and less money. Someone in a coffee shop had said something about the mines closing. 

She moved because she had accepted a job teaching at the local infant school in the Reception class, they called it Pre-K in the US but from what she had gathered the four and five-year-olds in the UK were learning at a higher level than the four and five-year-olds in the US. 

Dani had only moved so early so she could get ready. The English summer holiday started at the end of July and before that she had meetings with the headteacher at her new school and some of her future students so she could get to know them. She also needed to settle in. 

She had managed to get a tiny apartment on the main street, opposite the coffee shop. It was small but it easily became home with a splash of colour. Anything could be home if you tried hard enough but Dani barely had to try here. It was perfect. 

On the third day in Bly, she had a meeting with the headteacher, so she headed out and to the school. She’d had a look at the outside of the school earlier on in the week, as she came into the town, but it still took her breath away. It was a beautiful, old building, it wasn’t rundown but it was stunning. 

She pinned in the code to the gate that she had been given before pushing her way into the schoolyard. There was a woman there to meet her, the headteacher, Dani wanted to assume. 

“Are you Dani Clayton?” the accent wasn’t like the other ones she had heard in the local area, it was a posher British accent, like the ones in the movies. 

“That’s me,” Dani smiled, holding out her hand to the woman. 

“Pleased to meet you,” the woman smiled, shaking her hand, “I’m Hannah Grosse or Miss Grosse to all the children. I’m the headteacher here,”. 

“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Grosse,” Dani smiled as the woman began to lead her inside. 

“Hannah to you,” she smiled warmly as she pushed open the door to the school, indicating for Dani to enter. “Now, I see your previous experience is in teaching first graders in America,” Hannah began to talk as she led the way down the hallway and into an office. 

“Yes, but I looked over the curriculum and it isn’t that different-” she had prepared for these questions but she was cut off by Hannah holding her hand up to stop her and telling her to sit down on one of the couches. The headteacher took a seat on the other. 

“I’m not worried about that. I’m sure you’re perfectly capable of teaching phonetics and numbers,” Hannah joked good-naturedly, “I called you in to talk about some of the new rules that the Government might introduce on teaching. I don’t personally agree with any of them but we have to follow them,” she seemed exasperated but it was very clearly the Government at fault. 

“I’m not sure I quite follow,” Dani inquired, “I’m not very in with UK politics, unfortunately,”. 

“I don’t expect you to be, right now, it’s confusing and complicated and I can barely keep up,” Hannah laughed. 

“It’s just that a lot of these kids don't have huge amounts of money or highly intelligent parents. A lot of them won’t have regularly picked up a book or anything else because their parents don’t. These kids, they’re smart, but they don’t have the passion or support at home. Everything is changing, the mines have closed and the futures the parents thought these kids would have had has completely vanished. A lot of the lives of these kids are up in the air. They pick up on the stress and uncertainty at home. You’re not going to have an easy class to teach but they always love school because home isn’t easy,” Hannah’s passion for the children bled through in her words. 

“Easy isn’t how the world’s made,” Dani found herself saying in response, it was cliche but what else was she supposed to say. “I love such a young age group because I love shaping young children and watching them grow. If they need more help, they need more help. That’s a teachers job,” she smiled and the teacher in front of her breathed a visible sigh of relief. 

“The last few teachers have left, saying that it’s too hard,” Hannah smiled, “Taken an easier job in the South,” she shrugged. 

“I need something a little more permanent than a year, I don’t plan on leaving,” Dani didn’t know if the words were entirely true as they left her mouth, she didn’t know much at all about her future if she were honest. They talked for longer after that, Hannah telling her about the town and the kids, the school and the other teachers before they ended up on a tour, leading her around the school and showing her where everything was. 

It wasn’t a big school, only one class of thirty in each year group and only three year groups as well as the nursery, one morning class of twenty-five and the same in the afternoon class. It felt right though. Something about Bly just felt right. 

“One last thing,” Hannah smiled as they reached the gate, “There’s talk of a new law being introduced and we need to cover our backs. I don’t agree with this law but Section 28, it will ban schools from ever mentioning homosexuality to the kids. I’m just letting you know in case,” she looked so tired in the moment that Dani couldn’t even find it in herself to be angry so she just smiled, thanked her and said her goodbye before leaving, back home, maybe picking up a coffee and some lunch on the way. 

She was lost on Hannah’s last thing as she walked into the coffee shop, A Batter Place (terrible pun), and walked right into the back of a curly-haired brunette. 

“Fuck,” Dani cursed under her breath as the curly-haired brunette turned to face her. A very beautiful curly-haired brunette. Dani looked her up and down quickly, thank god, she hadn’t made her spill anything but she had an awesome sense of style. 

“Sorry,” Dani found herself scrambling to say. 

“It’s fine, love,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style smirked, was that a smirk, at her. She paused for a second, looking Dani up and down before her lips curled up in a smile. “You must be the new American in town,” she had a thick accent as she spoke, a little different to the one she was getting used to hearing around the town. 

“Ummm, yeah, t-that’s me,”. Did she just stutter? This was not going well. 

“Next!” came the yell from the counter and the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style spun around to face the man standing behind the counter. 

“I’ll take whatever weird concoction is new on the menu this week, please, Owen,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style treated the man, Owen, as though he were a long time friend. Everyone in this town seemed to know everyone. 

“I prefer other wording,” the man behind the counter muttered, ringing up the till and taking the cash that the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style handed over. She stepped aside, going to lean against a waiting counter and watching someone in the kitchen and Dani found her eyes glued on her. 

“Dani, isn’t it?” the man at the counter woke Dani from her daydream, “Just moved in across the street?”. 

“Yeah,” Dani found herself smiling, the brunette still on her mind. “Can I just get one of the burgers and a black coffee, please?” she smiled. 

“Of course, pet,” Owen smiled, “That’ll be two pound, fifty,”. Dani handed over her money with a thank you before going over to the waiting table, next to the brunette. 

“So, I heard you’re to be the new reception teacher,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style smiled at her from across the table. 

“I love the kids,” Dani shrugged in return, “What do you do around here?” she asked. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style winked. 

“Weird thing!” the yell came from the counter and the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style, left to get her takeaway box from the girl behind the counter. She said a few words to the girl, leaving just seconds before Dani’s own name was called. She collected her food and followed the brunette, attempting to maybe say something more but she just saw the back of her disappear into the flower store next door. 

Dani resigned to just going home, the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style still on her mind as she made her way inside. 

The very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style stayed in Dani’s mind for the next few days. Dani couldn’t really understand why but something drew her to the woman. She hadn’t even introduced herself properly yet but Dani was fascinated with her; it was like she already knew her. 

It was all of that, that probably led to her walking into the flower shop three days later. It wasn’t to look for her, no it was to just add some more colour to her apartment, at least that’s what she told herself as she walked into the flower shop. 

But the last thing she expected to see when she walked in was the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style standing behind the counter, tending to a flower growing up the wall. 

“So, this is what you do around here,” Dani’s teasing tone surprised her more than anyone else. 

“Hey, Poppins,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style smirked from behind the counter. 

“It’s Dani and I’m a teacher, not a nanny,” Dani herself was surprised by how quickly she managed to respond. 

“Well, Dani,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style teased, leaning over the counter, “I can’t think of any teachers so you’re Poppins,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style smiled, she was very cute too. She stood up straighter, her whole body language shifting suddenly. 

“What brought you in here anyway?” she asked, her voice less teasing than before. Dani coughed, why was she here? Right, colour. 

“Colour,” Dani stumbled over the word before clearing her throat again and trying to put together an actual sentence, “I think I need some more colour in my apartment,” she smiled as she managed to say something that actually made sense. What was this very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style doing to her and why. 

“Do you want something low maintenance or high maintenance?” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style asked, rounding the counter, closer to Dani. 

“I think low maintenance is a better option,” Dani’s brain finally decided to begin working and she could breathe a sigh of relief as her eyes followed the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style as she went to pick up a pot from the other side of the shop. 

“Well, I would recommend an Orchid, then,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style handed Dani an exquisitely attractive flowering plant, the flowers were a stunning purple infused with a little bit of white which just made it even more beautiful. 

  
“It’s beautiful,” Dani found herself saying as she took the pot from the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style, their fingers grazing over each other. Dani’s breath hitched in her throat and she almost dropped the pot. What was wrong with her today? She secured the pot in her arms and followed the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style to the counter. 

“You’re gonna want to keep that in direct sunlight and water regularly, don’t drown it but don’t let it get too dry,” she smiled. 

“How much?” Dani asked. 

“It’s on the house,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style shrugged with. Was that a wink? Dani could have sworn her heart stopped right there and then. Seriously, what was wrong with her?

“Does this mean I could find out your name, then?” Dani’s own confidence surprised her. 

“Call me if you need any help with the Orchid,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style slid a card across the counter instead. 

With hindsight, Dani could very easily say she was what people may call a ‘useless lesbian’ over the next too many weeks that anyone would care to mention because it would her sound like even more of a useless lesbian. 

It was two days before Dani saw the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style again, it was in line at the local butcher shop.    
  


“Hey, Poppins,” the familiar voice brought Dani out of her thoughts. She was meeting the current reception class teacher later on that day and she was worried, to say the least. 

“Hey, flower shop girl who still won’t tell me her name,” Dani’s confidence continued to surprise her. 

“How’s the Orchid?” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style smiled, ignoring Dani’s gibe completely. 

“Well, it’s not dead so I think it’s all okay,”. The very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style’s laugh rang out across the shop. It was a magnificent sound. “Thank you by the way,” Dani added softly. 

“It’s no problem,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style smiled back at her softly. 

“Can I get your name yet?” Dani asked as they both stepped forward in the line. 

“I don’t know why would you need it,” the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style raised an eyebrow and shrugged gently. 

“Because I’ve been calling you the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style in my head and I kind of want to change that,” Dani died a little inside as the words left her mouth. Why the hell did she say that? What was wrong with her? 

The very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style looked just as shocked at first but then her lips curled up in a smile. Why was Dani looking at her lips? She moved her gaze back up to her eyes and tried not to panic. Why was she panicking? The very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style looked as she was going to say something but the man in front of them moved past them as he left the store and the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style turned around to face the counter instead. 

Dani spent the time the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style was ordering, beating herself up for what she said. It was such a weird thing. Who would even say that aloud? 

“Hey, Poppins,”. Dani was robotically walking up to the counter when the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style’s voice broke through her thoughts. 

“What?” she smiled over at the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style, thanking God that she didn’t seem mad. 

“You can call me Jamie,” she smiled with a wink. Another wink, why was her heart beating that fast. Dani went to say something else but Jamie was already leaving out the door. Jamie. 

“What do you need, pet?” the man at the counter asked and Dani turned, no longer focusing on Jamie but her mind never left the woman. Not that her mind ever seemed to stop thinking about her at all. She just couldn’t figure out why. 

The next time she saw  the very beautiful curly-haired brunette with the awesome sense of style Jamie was when she was walking back from the school, where Hannah had introduced her to the morning nursery class. It had some of the kids that would be in her class next year. She was meant to meet the afternoon nursery class the next day. It had been a week since she found out Jamie's name. 

“Oi, Poppins!” the yell came from behind her and she turned to see Jamie running toward her. She slowed and smiled as Jamie slowed to a jog and came up next to her. 

“Hey, Jamie,” Dani smiled brightly, Jamie’s face mirrored a similar smile. 

“Where ya comin’ from, like?”. Dani was sort of getting used to the accent but the slang was completely weird. 

“Just the school,” Dani shrugged, “I was meeting the nursery class, I’m going to be teaching some of them next year. What about you?”. 

“I was just delivering some flowers to Mr Jacobs. Lives up there,” she nodded toward the top of the road, “Between you and me, he’s in some deep shite with his wife,” she joked, bumping shoulders with Dani playfully. Dani couldn’t help but let a small laugh escape her lips. 

“You walked all the way there with flowers?” Dani asked Jamie seemed to have far too much energy. 

“Driving seemed pointless and exercise is good and all that jazz,” Jamie shrugged, she had an amazing smile. The way her eyes crinkled, laughter lines already there from so many other smiles. There was something so inexplicably beautiful about her and exercise definitely paid off. Dani couldn’t say that. 

“Well, it pays off,” Dani’s mouth didn’t listen to her brain at all. Why the hell did she say that?

“You are a smooth talker, Poppins,” Jamie laughed, “Don’t expect that from a Reception teacher,”. 

“People have many layers,” Dani’s mouth moved without any permission from her brain. Why was she talking like this and why did her voice sound so smooth? 

“Oh, I know that,” the girl winked, shutting one of her eyes for just a brief second that felt like a century. They were really a mystery, those eyes. Were they green or brown or blue or was that a fleck of grey? Dani couldn’t tell. 

“So, Poppins, what brings you ‘ere?” 

“Where?” Dani teased. 

“Bly,” Jamie laughed, her face full of genuine intrigue. An intrigue that only compelled Dani to tell the truth. The complete truth. 

“Honestly,” Dani’s mouth moved of its own accord again, “I realised my fiance was cheating and needed a fresh start and then I was in London, looking for a teaching job. I decided to travel North and I ended up seeing the ad in the paper and next thing I know I’m moving into Bly,”. While she was talking they had moved onto the high street.

“Can I show you something?” Jamie asked as they drew closer to the flower shop. 

“Sure,” Dani shrugged. 

“Well, in ‘ere then, Poppins,” Jamie laughed, pushing open the door to the store. 

“Don’t you lock it?” Dani asked as she walked in. Her body scraped close to Jamie as she walked past and for some reason her heart started to beat a hundred times faster as her breath got caught in her throat. Maybe she was coming done with something. 

“Couple of weeks ago, someone dumped this plant outside my door,” Jamie went over to a plant in front of a counter in a large pot. It was more like a bush. A rose bush to be more specific but the roses were lavender instead of the classic red. “People do it from time to time when they don’t want ‘em because they know I can save ‘em,” Jamie explained as she leaned over the counter to grab something. 

“I just thought this one was particularly beautiful,”. It turned out Jamie had grabbed a pair of scissors and she cut off a particularly beautiful rose, one full of life and colour. There was a large amount of stem still on there and she turned to face Dani. They were standing so close together when she turned around that Dani swore she could feel Jamie’s breath on her face. 

“I hate when people cast beautiful things aside,” Jamie whispered as she tucked the flower behind Dani’s ear. Dani was pretty sure she stopped breathing in that moment. She didn’t even feel a single thorn scrape her skin. 

Why was she feeling this way? Why couldn’t she think of anything to say?

The bell dinged next to them as someone else came into the shop. Jamie leapt back and Dani leapt back to. Something shifted in the room, something that Dani couldn’t explain. She felt caught. 

“Hi, Mrs Surtees,” Jamie seemed to recover quicker as she stepped back around the counter. Dani’s brain had managed to malfunction completely and she definitely wasn’t able to move or speak for a few seconds until Mrs Surtees unusually high-pitched voice rang out. 

“Hello Jamie,” she said tersely, her stern tone contrasting with the high-pitched voice. She sounded like an angry petulant child in an old woman’s body. Dani had to stifle her laugh and she looked up at Dani who was doing the same. Luckily, Mrs Surtees was browsing elsewhere. 

“See you soon?” Jamie smiled. 

“See you soon,” Dani giggled. She actually giggled. Something was seriously wrong with her. She smiled at Jamie again before she left the store, her hand going up to the rose tucked behind her ear. Why was her heart beating so fast? 

“Poppins, wait!” Jamie’s voice made Dani spin around again as her heart sped up infinitely, “You free tonight?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Dani smiled. 

“You wanna grab a drink, maybe something to eat?” she asked and Dani’s heart rate went up even more. This wasn’t normal. 

“I would lo-” for some reason Dani stopped herself, “I would like to,” she smiled, “Should I meet you here?”. 

“Yeah, around eight?” Jamie’s face was split in a huge smile. 

“See you later,” Dani found herself smiling. 

“See you later, Poppins,” Jamie winked and Dani swore she died a little. She had no idea why though. 

Dani was panicking. She didn’t know why. She didn’t know much at the moment. She was just running on instinct. It all felt just natural but she felt like she was meant to be panicking. Something about that evening just felt so heavy. 

Hindsight would tell her that, yeah, it was a pretty fucking big deal but as it was mentioned before: Dani was a useless lesbian. 

So she was panicking as she picked out an outfit. She decided that nice casual would do. Nice casual would definitely do. Right? She had about fifteen outfits stacked up on her bed and the only things that she had figured out was that she had a lot of pink, purple and denim.

She eventually decided on a long-sleeved turtleneck with a high-waisted short pencil-like skirt of a sort-of burgundy-purple colour and a pair of tights to match. The final part was a pair of simple heeled boots. She just let her hair fall naturally. 

She was outside fifteen minutes early and expected to wait for fifteen minutes but there was a familiar shout of ‘Poppins’. Dani spun around to see Jamie waving as she jogged down the street toward her. She was carrying something carefully. 

“Jamie,” Dani smiled widely as the woman reached her. She was white cropped top with a pair of ripped short shorts and a belt and a blue plaid shirt over the top of it all. There was a pair of amazing Doc Martens on her feet. Ones that Dani quickly realised she’d never seen Jamie without. 

“Were you waiting long?” Jamie asked. 

“No, I literally just stepped outside,” Dani smiled, her stomach was doing flips. She felt almost physically sick. Her palms were sweaty and she could barely breathe. Maybe she should take a trip to the doctor. 

“That’s good,” Jamie smiled, her face filling with relief. She looked a little nervous but Dani didn’t entirely know why. 

“I have the perfect place for us to go,” Jamie smiled, “It’s just at the back of the shop,” she fiddled with the lid of one of the takeaway containers. 

  
“Lead the way,” Dani smiled softly and Jamie’s face lit up with a wide smile. 

“Okay, Poppins,” she raised an eyebrow as she turned to face the shop and led the way into the shop. Dani followed her in and couldn’t wipe the huge smile off her face for some reason. She very much didn’t understand her emotions at the minute. 

Jamie pushed her way through into a back room, full of flowers and then through into a small garden which had a path leading up to a greenhouse that was again covered in flowers. 

“I have to grow a lot of stuff,” Jamie explained as she pushed the door open into the greenhouse, holding it open for Dani. She looked around the space. It was stunning with all the different plants snaking up the walls and the pots lining all the sides and most of the floor space. There was a couch in the middle that Jamie made a beeline for, weaving her way around the pots. Dani followed her carefully. 

“So, Poppins,” Jamie smiled, “I hope you’re not vegetarian,”. 

“Oh,” Dani pressed her lips together, raising an eyebrow, “I probably should have said,” she dragged out the words and watched as Jamie’s face descended into panic. She had to stop herself from smiling as she went to speak again, “I absolutely love meat and spend my whole life feeling guilty for it,” Dani laughed and Jamie joined her, falling into laughter too. 

“Didn’t know you could be so mean, Poppins,” Jamie laughed, passing her one of the takeaway boxes, “This is one of the greatest English delicacies that you just must try,” Jamie smiled in a posh English accent, like the ones in every single movie. “Ironically, it’s a traditionally northern dish,” Jamie laughed nervously, back in her normal accent. 

“What’s it called?” Dani smiled, opening it up cautiously>   
  
“The name will put you off,” Jamie shrugged, passing Dani a knife and fork. 

“How so?”. 

“It’s weird,”. 

“Just weird?”. 

“Yeah, just weird,” Jamie stabbed at her food, looking away from Dani. 

Dani hummed suspiciously and looked over at Jamie with a small smile, “What’s it called?” she asked. 

“Nowt,” Jamie shrugged, “It’s called nowt,”. 

“Nowt?” Dani asked. 

“That’s slang for nothing,” Jamie laughed with a wide smile. 

“I’m sure it’s not called nothing,” Dani pushed. 

“It’s called something then,”.

“Let me get this straight, this dish is named something,” Dani spoke slowly, pointing at her food. 

Jamie mumbled something incoherent in response. 

“I didn’t quite get that,” Dani leaned in teasingly. 

  
“Toad in the Hole,” Jamie admitted, speaking ridiculously quickly, “Though it doesn’t in any way, shape or form contain any resemblance of toad or hole. It’s just sausages and Yorkshire pudding at its core with a bit of gravy on top,”. 

“Don’t worry. I didn’t imagine you would be feeding me toad. That’s a thing of the french,” Dani laughed. 

“Try it,” Jamie smiled, holding a forkful of food out toward Dani. Something caused butterflies to fill Dani’s stomach as she leant forward and wrapped her mouth around her fork, taking the bite off and pulling it into her mouth. It tasted admittedly amazing. 

“That’s so good,” Dani covered her mouth with her hand as she spoke through the mouthful. 

Jamie raised an eyebrow, “I know,” she smiled proudly. 

“So, what’s your story?” Dani hadn’t noticed the time at all as they finished their food and moved onto drinking some wine. 

“What do you mean?” Jamie asked. She was facing Dani on the couch, one leg on the couch which she leant against, hugging slightly as they spoke, intently listening to every word Dani uttered. Dani herself was facing Jamie and listening too. The woman was fascinating but Dani had found herself doing most of the talking. 

“Well, you know mine. Don’t I get to know yours,”. 

“I know your idiot of an ex cheated on you so you moved to London and then here,” Jamie smiled, “But I don’t know much else,”. It was obvious that Dani was going to have to talk for Jamie to talk. 

“What do you want to know?” Dani shrugged. 

“America’s a big country. What part are you from?”. 

“Pennsylvania,” Dani smiled, “It’s just South of New York,” she explained. 

“I know my geography, Poppins,” Jamie smiled. 

  
“Sure,” Dani smiled. 

“Didn’t you leave any family behind?” Jamie asked, moving the conversation along quickly.

“My dad died when I was ten and my mom kind of checked out after that,” Dani found herself admitting without much thought, “Eddie, my ex, he was kind of my only family from a young age. His mom fed me and looked after me really,” Dani coughed and looked over at Jamie, “What about your family?” she asked. 

Jamie didn’t respond and moved her gaze away, taking a breath before looking back. “That, Poppins, is a long story not for today,” her voice was teasing but Dani could tell not to push it any further. 

Jamie just cocked her head and shook it a little, “Let’s just say. There’s a reason I prefer plants to people,” she looked back up at Dani a little more, “Most people,” she clarified and Dani found her face splitting in her smile. 

There was a bell chime in the distance and they both looked up before Jamie looked down and her watch. “Crap, Poppins, it’s almost midnight,” she laughed. 

“Oh my god,” Dani breathed, she had completely lost track of time while they talked about anything and everything, not a lot of it even made sense. “We’ve been talking for hours,”. 

“You have to meet all those kids tomorrow too,” Jamie pointed out, “I’ll walk you home,” she offered standing up and offering her hand to Dani. 

“I live across the street,” Dani laughed, taking her hand and standing up. 

“You see, the thing is, Poppins,” Jamie teased, beginning to walk backwards and she led Dani through the maze of plants, “I’m a gentlewoman,” she raised an eyebrow with a small smile as she leant against the greenhouse door to push it open and pull Dani out. 

“I don’t doubt that for a second,” Dani laughed, she felt her heart beating in their joined hands as Jamie moved next to her while they walked back into the shop’s backroom. 

“You shouldn’t, I’m quite a gentlewoman,” Jamie put the terrible posh British accent back on as she spoke and Dani found herself laughing again. She was pretty sure Jamie had made it her life aim to make Dani laugh because she hadn’t laughed this much in so long. 

They were back in the front of the store and Jamie dropped her hand going over to a plant in the corner. Tiny white flowers covered it. She picked quite a few before going back over to Dani. “They’re Hydrangeas, they mean good luck,” she passed them over to Dani and the woman only found herself wondering what the meaning of all the other flowers was. “For tomorrow,” Jamie clarified as Dani took them. They had such a simple beauty to them. They reminded her of daisies but there was something more. 

“Thank you,” she smiled at Jamie. 

“It’s no problem,” Jamie laughed, “Now, I said I’d walk you home,” she offered her hand again and Dani found herself taking it and being led the tiny distance just across the street to the front of her apartment.

Jamie didn’t let go of her hand as they reached the door and Dani turned to face her. They were standing so close together. It didn’t feel right to leave but Dani was so nervous to stay, butterflies swirling in her stomach. Jamie looked as though she was deciding something. 

“See ya soon, Poppins,” she eventually smiled, her hand slipping away. 

“See you soon,” Dani found herself echoing just before Jamie spun around and walked off with a wave. Dani watched her go back into the flower shop before she spun around and unlocked the door and went into her apartment with a huge smile. 

She went to the library first thing the next morning. Dani needed to find out some stuff about flower meanings, desperately. “Do you have any books on flower meanings?” she asked the librarian desperately as soon as she walked in. 

“Just over here, pet,” the librarian smiled, leading Dani through some of the stacks and over to a certain shelf where she picked out a book and passed it to Dani. “If you don’t end up taking it, just return it to the correct place,” she smiled before leaving Dani with just the heavy book in her hands.

“Orchid and Lavender Rose,” she thought to herself as she moved over to one of the armchairs and sat down before flicking through the book. “Orchid,” she muttered to herself as she flicked through the book. It was alphabetical so it was easy to find. She finally reached ‘O’. Orchid was first. 

_ These highly distinctive flowers symbolise rare and delicate beauty. Interestingly, they were favoured by the Ancient Greeks to show masculinity but this has now changed to a more feminine meaning. _

She read it and then read it again. 

And then again. 

Maybe it would make more sense if she read the Lavender Rose meaning, she figured. She flicked back through the book, looking for ‘L’. It wasn’t there. She swore before looking back through at a greater speed. She needed to find ‘R’ and figure all this out. 

Rose was the fifth one in. There were a lot of pages. It took a while to get through all the different colours. Red, White, Pink, Yellow, Orange and then finally Lavender. Dani’s breath hitched as she read the words. 

Oh _.  _

_ This delicate colour of rose means enchantment and love at first sight.  _

Dani read it again and again and again. 

Jamie was flirting.

Jamie had been flirting. 

Jamie is flirting. 

With Dani. 

Jamie  was is flirting with Dani. And she had been flirting back. 

She needed some air. 

Dani grabbed the book and walked, as fast as she could, back to the shelf it came from, she slid it back into its place and walked out as fast as possible, making a beeline for the door. “Did you get everything you need, like?” the librarian called after as her hands reached out for the cool metal of the door. 

“Yeah, thanks,” Dani called over her shoulder before throwing open the door and running out. Down the ramp before leaning against the railing at the bottom. 

Jamie. Very beautiful curly-haired brunette Jamie with the awesome sense of style was flirting with her. She was flirting with her. And Dani had flirted back. And she didn’t mind. 

Oh. 

She didn’t mind. She didn’t mind. She didn’t mind that Jamie, a woman (admittedly a beautiful one), was flirting with her, Dani, also a woman. She didn’t mind. She liked it. She liked it. 

Oh. She liked it.

Was she gay? Oh my god. Was she gay? Was she a lesbian? What was going on? Dani took a deep breath and tried to collect herself, looking down at her shaking hands. 

“You alright, love?” a man’s voice interrupted her thoughts and she looked up to see Owen. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Dani could hear her voice crack as the lie left her mouth. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked. 

“No, I’m good. I’m good,” Dani tried to assure him or herself, she wasn’t entirely sure who. 

“Okay,” Owen didn’t sound entirely convinced, “Just pop in if you need anything,” he smiled before walking onto the store. 

She wasn’t gay. She couldn’t be gay. She hadn’t had feelings for gi-

Oh. Crap. 

She might be gay. She definitely might be gay. 

“Hey, Poppins,” Jamie smiled as Dani walked into the store. Dani ignored her cheeky smile and continued on her mission. She was on a mission that she’d been working herself up for for the whole day. She was distracted the whole day, through her lunch with Rebecca, the current reception teacher, and through her afternoon with the perfectly lovely afternoon nursery class and just through everything. A car nearly hit her on the way home. She was going to say what she needed to say and she was going to make Jamie hear her. 

“How were the kids?” Jamie asked, rounding the counter to go over to her. The shop was empty, probably due to the fact it was nearing seven o’clock in the evening and this town seemed to work off the idea that evening was nighttime judging by its emptiness. 

“So, I went to the library this morning,” Dani started but didn’t really know how to continue from there. Maybe next time she should make a mission plan past ‘talk to Jamie’. 

“Ya did, did ya?” Jamie smiled, “What’d ya find?”. That smile was annoyingly addictive. Dani shut her eyes for a second so she wasn’t so distracted by it. 

“This book,” Dani shrugged. What was she saying? That was such an obvious statement. 

“Oh really?” Jamie laughed. 

“Yeah,” Dani smiled, looking down at the plant next to her, “It had something about flower meanings in it,” she shrugged, looking back up at Jamie. 

Jamie pressed her lips together but they still curled up in a small smile as her head ducked down to avoid Dani’s gaze. “Oh,” she smiled. 

“Yeah,” Dani nodded, looking at her pointedly. 

“I see,” Jamie looked back up and they locked eyes. 

“Do you know what an orchid symbolises?” Dani asked, taking a step closer to the woman. 

“Yes,” Jamie smiled.

“Lavender rose?”. 

“Yeah,”. 

“Do you mean what they mean?” Dani could hear the shake in her voice as she asked the question. Her heart was beating in her ears, faster than ever before and her hands were shaking too. 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Jamie asked, taking a step closer to Dani, “Have you seen you?” she asked, they were so close now. Right on the edge of each other’s spaces but neither had breached the gap yet. 

Dani took a step forward into the gap. Her heart rate ticked up as she felt Jamie’s breath on her face. So close now. “I’m still figuring out if I’m even gay,” she warned. 

“I can back o-”. Dani was shocked to find herself cutting Jamie off with her lips. On Jamie’s. Her lips were on Jamie’s and it was perfect. 

Her hands cupped Jamie’s face holding her close while Jamie’s hands wrapped around her waist pulling her in. Her lips were soft and perfect and she felt like the simple connection set her whole body on fire as they kissed. Was this how kissing was supposed to feel? Whatever it was she didn’t want it to stop but Jamie pulled back, panting. Dani slipped her eyes open to see her as she moved her hands round to thread in her hair.

“Are you sure?” Jamie whispered, her breath ghosting over her lips. 

Dani barely got the word ‘yes’ out before Jamie’s lips were on her again and Dani was lost in the intoxicating addictiveness of her. She was so addictive. Dani could kiss her all day. 

It took about one hour from that moment for Dani to conclude that yep. She was probably gay. The fact she was in bed with a very beautiful woman completing what could only be described as incredibly enjoyable homosexual activity definitely had everything to do with it because damn. She had been missing out. This was how it was supposed to feel. 

The next morning was even better. She woke up with Jamie lying next to her and it was the best night’s sleep she’d had in ages. And they hadn’t done much sleeping. But when she opened her eyes to see the back of what was probably one of the most beautiful women Dani had ever seen, she noticed it. The pink burn scar on her left shoulder. That could be for later. It was a Saturday. She could sleep in. 

She laid her head back on the pillow and let herself shuffle closer to Jamie, placing a small kiss to the scar before letting her eyes slip close again. She was going to take advantage of this good night’s sleep. At least she thought she was and then she remembered Jamie worked at a shop which had opening hours. 

Dani cursed the world and rolled over to check the time. Eight o’clock. The shop opened at nine. Jamie was English. Maybe she’d like a cup of tea. Dani rolled out of bed and grabbed some discarded clothes. The first thing she found was Jamie’s flannel so she pulled it on and made her way to the kitchen. Tea. It was just hot water, teabag, milk and sugar. Right? She needed hot water. A kettle, that thing every British person had that boils water. There was one in here somewhere, the last person had left it behind. 

“That’s my shirt, Poppins,” the voice came from behind her just as the water started to boil. Dani turned around with a smile. 

“I know,” she shrugged, “It’s quite comfy,”. Jamie just hummed, quite obviously checking her out. 

“What are you doing?” sitting herself up in the bed a little more and looking over at Dani. 

“Making a cuppa tea,” Dani tried an admittedly terrible British accent and Jamie bit her lip and smiled, bending her head and shaking it. 

“I don’t know whether to trust an American with tea,” Jamie eyed her suspiciously. 

“Oh, I know, you shouldn’t trust me,” Dani laughed as the kettle finished boiling, very loudly. She turned around and went to pour it into the teapot. 

“What on Earth are you doing!” Jamie grabbed Dani’s purple striped t-shirt as she leapt out of the bed and ran over to the kitchen where Dani had completely stopped, hovered over the cup. 

“Always put the teabag first,” Jamie sighed, picking two out of the box and throwing them into the pot. “Now pour,” she wanted, moving behind Dani and wrapping her arms around her waist, pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck as Dani reached for the sugar. 

“It’s best like this,” Jamie whispered against her neck and reached for the milk, pouring a small dash into the pot, “Trust me,”.

“Oh I do, every cup I’ve made has ended up tasting crap,” Dani laughed. Jamie smiled against her neck and pressed another kiss there as Dani poured the tea into the cups. She felt ridiculously happy. Dani unsnaked her arms from around Jamie’s waist as she took a step to the side to pick up a cup of tea. 

“Why were you attempting to betray the sanctity of tea anyway?” Jamie smiled as she leant against the kitchen table, looking over at Dani. 

“Wanted to make you a cup of tea before you went to work,” Dani focused on her tea as she spoke, staring at the brown liquid before taking a sip. It was annoyingly perfect. Jamie knew it, judging by the smile on her face. 

“Well, I could just not open today,” Jamie smiled, biting her lip, “Or open a bit later,”. She put the tea down on the table and took a step towards Dani. 

“Really?” Dani smiled widely, placing the tea down next to her. 

“Yeah, there’s something else,” Jamie took a step and reached out an arm to pull Dani closer, her hand resting on Dani’s hip, “Someone else,” she whispered into her ear, “That I’d much rather be doing,” she finished with a shrug, her tongue darting out to lick her lips. 

“Oh,” Dani swallowed, coherent sentences weren’t going to be her forte at this moment and Jamie’s lips captured hers in a soft kiss, one that couldn’t be deepened due to the smile Dani couldn't keep off her face as Jamie spun them around and pulled Dani back over to the bed. 

At some point, they had to get out of bed. Jamie to open the shop and get some clothes that she hadn’t been wearing yesterday and Dani to catch up again with Rebecca, the teacher she was taking the Reception job from. It turned out it was a different teacher that was leaving and instead Rebecca was moving up to teach another year group. 

Lunch with Rebecca was interesting, to say the least. She’d only been there a year but most of the lunch was spent with her catching Dani up on all the gossip while they watched Owen and Hannah dance around each other at the counter. 

When lunch ended Dani headed over to the flower shop next door. It was quite full so she pretended to browse for a while, acting as though she couldn’t feel Jamie’s eyes on her the whole time she walked around. She was studying a white interestingly-shaped flower that had caught her eye so she didn’t even notice that everyone had left. 

“Calla Lily. Beauty, innocence, magnificence and purity,” Jamie’s voice distracted her and she spun to face the woman who was smiling at her. 

“I just thought they looked nice,” Dani laughed.

“What are you doing here, anyway, Poppins?” Jamie smiled. 

Dani ducked her head and looked away, “Honestly, I have no idea what there is to do around here,”. 

“Honestly,” Jamie mimicked her accent for a second and Dani had no choice but to laugh, “There isn’t anything to do,” she smiled, back in her own accent. 

“Your accent is different to everyone else around here,” Dani commented, the lingering question hanging in the air around them. 

“Believe it or not, I chose to live in this town. I grew up, just south of here. Accent’s a little different down there,” Jamie shrugged, looking behind her out of the window onto the empty street before turning to Dani with a smile as her hand moved to Dani’s hip to pull her into a quick kiss that Dani could only smile into. 

“Hey, you two,” the door slammed and Owen’s somewhat familiar voice rang out as both of them jumped apart. 

“Owen,” Jamie smiled, walking back over to the counter. 

“Jamie,” he nodded before turning to Dani, “Dani,” he smiled, somewhat victoriously with a knowing raise of an eyebrow. 

“Owen,” Dani nodded back, deciding to follow Jamie over to the counter and leaning against the side. 

“What d’ya need?” Jamie asked as Owen began to look around. 

“I’m going on this thing this evening with someone and I need some flowers,” Owen shrugged, looking around for something. 

“Wait. Let me guess,” Jamie laughed victoriously, “You’re going on a date,”. 

“With Hannah,” Dani filled in. 

“Tonight,” Jamie finished with a smug smile. 

“No,” Owen vehemently denied but Dani tried to face Jamie who was just nodding assuredly. It was obvious. He hovered over some orangey flowers. 

  
“Those mean friendship,” Jamie sounded so smug as Owen practically jumped away from the flowers to look at some others. 

“Faded hope,” Jamie called out as he hovered over some others. 

“Used to seek forgiveness,” she called out as he reached another bunch and he spun round to face her. 

“You normally help with this,” he sighed accusatively. 

“I need to know what you need the flowers for,” Jamie smiled smugly. 

Owen took a deep breath and looked around, considering his options, “Fine,” he sighed, speaking ridiculously quietly, “I need them for a date,”. 

“Sorry, didn’t quite catch that,” Jamie teased. 

“I need them for a date,” Owen repeated with a sigh. 

“You should have said, I know just the thing,” Jamie laughed as she rounded the counter to go to the lined-up pots of individual flowers, ready to be made into bunches. Dani watched as Jamie put together what is arguably the most pretty set of flowers that Dani had ever seen. Jamie just had an eye for it. 

“So you two,” Owen managed to simultaneously smile smugly at both Jamie and Dani. 

“You and Hannah,” Jamie quipped back before Dani could even process the words he was saying. Owen just pressed his lips together and left the subject but not without looking between Jamie and Dani knowingly. 

Jamie finished collecting all of the flowers and walked back round the counter, her fingers scraping against Dani’s. Dani looked up at her and she was just given a smile before she went over to wrap the bunch properly. 

“Here,” Jamie passed it over to him, “On the house,” she told him, “Don’t mess it up,” she warned him with a kind of sort of very hot steel. 

“I won’t,” he smiled, taking the flowers, “Thank you,”.

“No problem,” Jamie smiled, watching him leave the store intently. The door shut and Jamie swore it was seconds before Jamie’s hand was in hers, tugging her toward the backroom. Dani took a step closer and slipped her hand out of her Jamie’s so she could cup her face and pull her into the kiss, pushing her up against the door to the backroom so it swung open and they both fell in. Dani on top of Jamie. Thank god, missing any plants. Dani found herself laughing straight away, her head falling to Jamie’s shoulder as the woman beneath her laughed too, her arms wrapping around Dani’s waist to hold her close. 

“The door’s push, Poppins,” Jamie laughed. 

“Shut up,” Dani mumbled into her neck which only made Jamie laugh more. The bell on the store door rang again and Jamie groaned silently as Dani jumped up before jumping up after her and coughing. 

“So this is everything we have back here,” she started to speak as they walked out of the backroom to be confronted by the very confused face of someone Dani did know. She was a mum of one of the kids in her class next year. Mrs Hume. 

“I’ll think I’ll come back later,” Dani smiled, her fingers reaching out and grazing over Jamie’s for just a second before she walked quickly out with one last wave as she shut the door behind her. 

Dani next saw Jamie that evening when she opened her door to see her standing on the other side. “Can I show you something?” she sounded more serious than usual, the teasing tone of her voice gone. 

“Sure,” Dani found herself agreeing quickly, stepping out of the apartment and slipping her hand into Jamie’s before pulling the door shut behind her. It was dark outside as Jamie led her the familiar route through the flower shop, through the backroom and out into the garden. 

“The only reason I bought this place was so I could grow some plants outside,” Jamie explained as she led her to a makeshift log bench that lay there. Dani took a seat and Jamie took a seat a little further from her than normal. Dani watched her intently as she looked at her hands, leaning forward so her elbows rested on her knees as she took a slow shaky breath.

“My dad made me fall in love with plants,” she started, “Not because he loved plants,” she looked up Dani for a second before looking back at her fingers. 

She took a deep breath before speaking in the most detached monotone like she was trying to take herself away from the words she was saying, “There was my dad, Denis, and my mum, Louise. Louise was eighteen and Denis was twenty-four when they met and a year later, total surprise, my brother, Denny was born. Then I came along, less of a surprise, I guess,” she sighed, so focused on her hands. Dani focused on Jamie only. She wanted to bring her into a hug but something told her to just let her say it before she did that. 

“Denis started working down the coal mines, meant more money but he was barely home and Louise, well, she was home with the kids but she was basically a kid herself,” Dani took a deep breath, “So she did what kids do,” Jamie looked up at Dani for just a second, “She played,”. 

“So, basically,” Jamie sighed, looking back at her hands, “Dad’s underground and mum’s under some bloke,”. 

“And you know the thing about a coal mine. At least the thing I think about now,” her voice sounded so close to breaking, “No plants down there. No life at all. We send these men down digging for something,” she took a shaky breath, “for something so dead,” she practically spat the words out, “So dead that it’s now lumps of dead things so old and lifeless that will literally burn,”. 

She took another deep breath, “And then he comes up with all that death, that dark, powdery death is all over his face, his hands and his fucking lungs,” she spat out the last part, “There’s not a leaf, not a branch, not a flower in his world and he climbs out of that grave and they fucking laugh at him,” her sadness was slowly transforming into anger. 

“They laugh at him because the whole town knows that the new baby, my little brother Mikey, isn’t his,”. Dani could feel Jamie’s anger as the woman shook her head, “And they call my mum a whore because, well, you call a spade a spade but they call the daughter one too, bully her at school, on the streets. Even makes it way home,” Jamie sighed and Dani found her breath hitching in her throat as she stared at the woman. How did she even manage to smile?

“Little Denny piles on, tries to save his own skin and in ‘67, Louise bolts,” Jamie sighed, shaking her head, “I come home from school to find Mikey, alone and screaming his head off. I try to take care of him but I’m just a kid,” Jamie shrugged, her voice breaking again. 

“Kids can’t raise kids,” Jamie was focused on a piece of ground, her voice so small, “Like watching over a pot of boiling water,” she admitted before stopping and leaning more forward on her hands, her head shaking. 

“So there’s an accident. Social services sticks its nose in and we’re split up,”. Dani wanted to say something. Wanted to make it all stop but she couldn't. It was done. “Dad did his best. Spent so long in that grave he didn’t know what to do with a kid let alone three so he disappeared into the dirt and we were chucked in foster care,”. 

“Just a bunch of stale perverted men,” the steel began to return to Jamie’s voice, “With bitter wives hoping to pocket a quid by taking care of the local rubbish. I left for Liverpool pretty soon after that and got myself into all sorts of trouble there. Served a couple of years,” Jamie’s hand shook as she spoke the final sentence, her eyes dropping back to her hands and away from the wall in front of her. Dani’s eyes never left Jamie’s face. 

“I started gardening there,” Jamie looked back up Dani, “Busy work for idle hands or whatever spiel they fed us but I fucking love it and it was so clear to me, people aren’t worth it,”. 

“But plants,” a passion had been injected into Jamie’s voice as she spoke, “You pour love and effort into them and you see where it goes. You watch them grow,” Jamie nodded over at that wall and she stood up. 

“That is a moonflower. Bloody hard to grow in England. It blooms two months a year, only at night and each bud only once. The flowers, you see, will be dead tomorrow morning. In three weeks it’ll all be dead and in Spring, a whole new moonflower,”. 

“Worth it,” Dani found herself saying in a small voice as she studied the beautiful flower from just a distance. 

“That’s my point,” Jamie smiled, spinning to face her, “Everyone is exhaustive, even the best people but sometimes, only in a blue goddamn moon, someone is worth the effort,”. 

“I know this is new but something changed when you ran into me and I don’t know what it was but suddenly I gave a fuck about someone I’ve just met and that’s rare, really rare. Especially if that person has literally just ran into me but there was just something about you like I already knew you. Like something,” Jamie paused, she was taking slow steps toward Dani, “There was just something,”. 

Jamie looked as though she might say something else but Dani didn’t care. She stood up and grabbed Jamie’s hand pulling her closer. Her other hand moved to her cheek and she pulled her into a kiss. 

The next day, Dani woke up in Jamie’s bed in the apartment above the flower shop. Jamie had confessed last night that she didn’t take Dani there the night before because she wanted Dani to feel in control. After that, it became more of a routine, waking up in Jamie’s bed. Clothes started to collect there as well as a toothbrush, some of Dani’s books, more of her things until Dani couldn’t remember the last time she had gone back to her own place and she didn’t find herself caring. She was sleeping well, laughing so much and actually felt at home for the first time in a long time but before she knew it August was ending and September was rolling around. 

She’d been preparing all summer: lesson plans, worksheets, learning all the names, making sure she could pronounce all the names correctly, learning her way around the school and decorating her classroom. Everything was perfect. She was ready and prepared and she knew exactly what to expect. 

At least she thought she did, until two days before when Jamie came walking into her apartment where Dani was making dinner and without even a ‘hello’ said the words Dani least expected to hear (mainly because she expected to hear a ‘hello’).

“Would you want to move in with me?” she asked, walking straight over to Dani. 

Dani almost dropped the plate she was holding there and then. She put the plate down slowly before looking at Jamie, trying to see if she was joking. She clearly wasn’t. “What?” Dani managed to choke out in the way of an answer. 

Jamie contemplated an answer for just a second before shaking her head and shrugging, “Don’t worry. It was no big deal,” she pretended as though she thought Dani didn’t hear her and Dani’s heart sank a little, she wanted to say ‘yes’ it was just a bit of a surprise. She turned behind her and switched the stove off before following where Jamie was disappearing into the bedroom. She grabbed her hand just as she reached the doorway. 

“Ask me again,” she smiled as Jamie turned to face her. 

Jamie took a deep breath, “Would you like to move in with me?” her voice was smaller than usual. Dani’s face couldn’t help but split into a smile and she pulled Jamie closer and leaned in to kiss her before stopping right before their lips touched. 

“Yes,” she whispered and it was Jamie’s lips that closed that tiny gap before the word had even properly left her mouth. 

“Morning, Miss Clayton,” was whispered in her ear, two days later when she woke up in  Jamie’s their bed. Moving into Jamie’s was the obvious choice and though not all her stuff hadn’t moved yet it already felt a little more like their place. It felt weird to think about. 

Dani rolled over to face the direction of the noise, “Morning,” she murmured groggily, blinking her eyes open to see Jamie sitting on the edge of the bed holding a steaming mug of something. 

“Coffee,” Jamie clarified, “Even though you yanks are crazy for liking it,”. Dani sat up and took the mug out of Jamie’s hands, “I asked Owen how to make it, don’t worry,” Jamie smiled as Dani took a sip, it was good. Really good. Annoyingly good and Jamie’s smug smile as she registered Dani’s face rubbed salt in the wound. She still couldn’t make a halfway decent cup of tea. 

“Thank you,” she smiled, leaning forward and stealing a quick kiss from Jamie’s lips. Jamie pulled away quite quickly, standing up off the bed. 

“No,” she shook her head, “It’s your first day, I’m not distracting you. Get ready and I’m going to cook some breakfast,” she told her sternly, walking off toward the kitchen. Dani pressed her lips together to hide her smile as she stared at Jamie’s retreating form. Her girlfriend was very cute. “I’m giving you a lift by the way. The river overflowed last night,” Jamie popped her head into the bedroom again before disappearing back into the kitchen. 

“Thank you,” Dani called after her before taking a large drink of her coffee and dragging herself out of the bed and over to the cupboards where most of her clothing hung. She had decided to wear a short suit the night before; it was a bright poppy red pink and she paired it with a simple tight white t-shirt with a simple necklace that had a golden pendant that used to belong to her mom, bought for her by her dad before everything. 

She pulled it all on as she drank the coffee before walking through the kitchen to the bathroom to sort out her bedhead. She didn’t notice how Jamie stared at her ask she walked into the bathroom or how she completely crushed the egg in her hands and promptly destroyed the pancakes she was trying to make by dropping so much shell into the mix. 

She did hear the yelled string of curses though and came running out of the bathroom, hairbrush in hand. “What happened?” she asked, concerned. 

“Still can’t cook for shite,” Jamie muttered, looking down at the jug, she wasn’t about to admit how the shell got in there. 

Dani eyebrows raised into her hairline as she peered into the jug, “We can start again, I’ll help you,” she shrugged, looking up at Jamie but she wasn’t looking at the jug. “What?” she laughed. 

“You look absolutely amazing, Poppins,” Jamie just shrugged, a hand moving to Dani’s waist and pulling her close in a kiss, “Absolutely beautiful,” she whispered against Dani’s lips which curled into a smile. She was so lucky. She stole a final quick kiss before discarding her hairbrush in favour of turning to the fridge to see if they had any more eggs and milk. Thankfully, they did. 

“Here,” Dani smiled, grabbing a new jug and cracking two eggs into it with ease, “Measure the flour,” she turned to Jamie. 

“Bossy,” Jamie muttered but it was with a huge smile as she reached for the scales. 

Making pancakes might have been the hardest thing on the planet when Jamie was distracting her with her absolute inability to so much as flip a pancake. Four pancakes each later and three more on the floor and Dani found herself looking at herself in the mirror as she considered the day ahead. She really had to impress a bunch of four and five-year-olds. 

“You’ll be fine,” Jamie pressed a kiss to Dani’s cheek as she reached to pick up the car keys on the shelf under the mirror, “You and I both know you have nothing at all to worry about because you are amazing and intelligent and so easy to like,” Jamie stumbled weirdly over the final word but Dani decided not to focus on it, instead, whispering a small ‘thank you’ before taking Jamie’s hand and letting her lead her downstairs and out onto the street. Jamie had pulled the car down the street, something allowed before seven o’clock in the morning and it was definitely before then as Jamie started the jeep. 

She reached over and slid the cassette into the slot and turned the music up a little. Blondie started out over the speakers and Dani reached over and slipped her hand over Jamie’s, threading their fingers together over the stick. 

“How ready do you feel?” Jamie asked as she moved exactly two centimetres before pressing the horn. 

“Seriously,” Owen yelled as he walked out of the coffee shop and leant against the car window. 

“I don’t want my girlfriend to be late on her first day on the account of your girlfriend,” Jamie sighed, putting her foot onto the seat and leaning against her leg as she looked past Dani into the coffee shop. 

“Sorry,” Hannah came jogging out of the coffee shop, “Thank you for the lift,” she smiled, opening the door and climbing up into the car, “I can’t believe the river burst its banks in September,” she sighed. 

“It hasn’t happened since I moved here,” Owen smiled as Rebecca came jogging out of her apartment just down the street up to the car. 

“Three years and I’ve never seen the river burst its banks before winter,” she sighed as she opened the car door and stepped in. 

“I was just saying that,” Owen laughed. “Good luck today, ladies. If you need it, I will have extra tea and coffee waiting for when you get back,”. The usual polite goodbyes, thank yous, good lucks were exchanged before they pulled away and then the hellos and Hannah’s run-through of the final plans as the jeep expertly navigated over the flooded road on the way to the school. 

Jamie pulled into the car park behind the school and with some thank yous and goodbyes Rebecca and Hannah hopped out. Jamie held Dani’s hand to stop her from going.    
  


“Wait,” she smiled, leaning under her seat to pick something up, “You’re going to do great today, Poppins. I believe in you,” Jamie's lips met hers in a sweet kiss that seemed to work magic and make her whole body relax and every single thought she had leave her brain as she lost herself in the feel of Jamie.

Dani pulled away slowly and Jamie pushed her own door open, “Wait there a second, I got you something for you,” she smiled, hopping out and going to the back and to the boot. Dani heard the boot open and shut and then Jamie was opening Dani’s door and holding a plant pot. 

It was the most weirdly shaped plant she’d ever seen with the stems weaving around each other like one of those crazy waterslides. It was in a beautiful sleek black vase. “Lucky bamboo,” Jamie clarified, “I’ve been growing it for a while as an experiment but I thought it looked really good and it means good luck so I thought it would be the perfect addition for your classroom,” she smiled. 

“Thank you,” Dani laughed, spinning in her seat so she looked down a little on Jamie. 

“It’s no problem,” Jamie laughed before their lips met while she lifted Dani down. They ended up pulling apart when they almost dropped the pot, Jamie catching it expertly in one hand. 

“You distracted me,” Dani pressed her lips together and took it back from Jamie with an innocent smile.

“Sorry, Poppins,” Jamie laughed teasingly. Dani just hummed in amused disapproval as grabbed her bag from the car and swung it over her shoulder and turned back to Jamie. 

“I’ll see you later,”. 

“See ya later, Poppins,” Jamie laughed as Dani turned to go into the school, “Good luck!” she called. 

“Thank you,” Dani smiled, spinning to face her and smile back before turning and walking in and going to her classroom and placing the bamboo front and centre on her desk, next to the picture of her and Jamie that she put there a few days before. 

David Armstrong

Amanda Bell

Jason Bowes

Thomas Carr

Joshua Conyers

Amy Dixon

Paul Dunn

Elizabeth Elliot

Stephen Fenwick

Daniel Gaskin

James Hume

Christopher Lumley

Matthew Marley

Lucy McCormick

Melissa Oley

Jessica Richardson

Alexander Reilly

Sarah Robson

Benjamin Simpson

Katie Smith

Emma Steele

Michael Stone

Andrew Turnbull

Laura Walker

Flora Wingrave

Dani looked through her list again; it wasn’t big or small, just twenty-five kids. All of them four-years-old. The eldest, James, wasn’t five until the week after next. She’d already put that up on the birthday calendar in the corner. She was ready. She looked at the colouring she printed out as a morning exercise on her desk and went to lay them out on each desk while she made sure the name tags were in the right place. She then put out all the colouring pencils. 

“I don’t want to go!” Dani turned toward the door as she heard the yell from outside. She was expecting this. She went over to the door that led out onto the playground and pushed it open, taking a spare chair and propping it open. A young girl spun to face Dani, a young boy next to her had his feet planted against the floor and was pulling on a man’s arm back in the direction of the car. 

“Hi,” she smiled to the young girl, “I’m Miss Clayton,”. 

“Flora Wingrave,” the girl announced proudly with a huge smile. Dani knew that name, she was in her class, “That’s my brother,” Flora nodded over to where the boy was struggling against the man, “He doesn’t like school,” she sighed. 

“Do you want to come inside?” Dani asked, “I have some colouring ready to do while we wait for everyone to be here,”. 

“That sounds perfectly splendid,” Flora gave her a huge smile, rocking up on her tiptoes. 

“You can put your bookbag in your cubby, it’s labelled and your spot is labelled too,” Dani smiled, “But don’t worry if the labels look boring, we’re remaking them later,”. 

“Perfectly splendid,” Flora smiled, going to look around the cubby area for her slot. Dani looked back over to where Rebecca was now talking to the boy. Dani assumed he would be in her class. He seemed to very begrudgingly agree to go into the classroom and the man started to walk in Dani’s direction. Dani could see other parents begin to show up behind him. 

“Hi, I’m Henry, Flora’s uncle,” the man smiled as he reached her extending a hand. 

Dani took it, shaking it quickly, “Miss Clayton. I’m going to be Flora’s teacher this year,”. 

“She’s very excited for it,” Henry smiled fondly before peering into the classroom where Flora had found her seat, “See you later, Flora,” he called.

“Bye,” she called back absentmindedly, looking through all the colours. 

“At least one of them likes me,” he laughed, looking back over at Rebecca’s classroom. 

“Miss Clayton?” one of the other mum’s came up to her and that’s when it started. Every single parent was eager to introduce themselves to Dani while she desperately tried to tell all the children what to do. The easiest part of the day was when they left and she could just start teaching the kids. They were all so amazing and enthusiastic and none of them she had clocked as huge trouble makers yet. 

“Hey, Poppins,” Jamie poked her head around the door to Dani’s classroom about half-an-hour after the school day ended. Dani had had a meeting before 

“Hey,” Dani smiled softly, leaning back in her chair to look over at her girlfriend, “How was your day?”. 

“How was your day?” Jamie laughed, “How was your day?” she asked, putting emphasis on the ‘your’, “First day on the job,” she walked over to the table and sat on it in front of Dani. 

“It was surprisingly awesome,” Dani smiled, shuffling her chair forward and resting her hands on Jamie’s legs, “The worst part was the parents but that’s nothing new, the kids were so great. There was this one, Flora, who said the phrase ‘perfectly splendid’ all the time and another, Alex, who was the most specific four-year-old about colours I’d ever met. I’m not joking, he told me off when I called,” Dani looked around for the pencil and found it, holding it up, “this, light blue. Apparently, it’s Police Strobe,” Dani laughed. 

“Police Strobe?” Jamie laughed and Dani just nodded, going on to tell more stories from the day. She missed the way Jamie looked at her with eyes full of what could undoubtedly be seen as love. Her eyes so full of complete adoration as she watched Dani tell the stories from the day. 

“So I take it it was good, then, Poppins?” Jamie smiled, running her hand through Dani’s hair when Dani finished talking for a second to take a breath and lean against Jamie’s legs for a second and yawning a little. 

“Yeah,” Dani smiled, looking back up at Jamie. Jamie leant down and met her lips in a quick kiss. Dani’s eyes slipped shut during the kiss and her lips curled into a smile, she’d missed her. “I missed you,” Dani whispered as she pulled away. 

“Me too,” Jamie laughed lightly. 

“Knock. Knock,” they both turned toward the door to see Hannah standing there, “Just wanted to see how your first day went,” she smiled. Dani shuffled away from Jamie a little. 

“It was amazing. The kids are so great,” she smiled and they were. The days went without a hitch for a couple of months. September and October were perfect. On Halloween, she went as She-Ra for the teacher’s superhero-themed dress up. Rebecca went as Wonder Woman and Hannah, reluctantly, as Batwoman. They also had a Spiderman, Robin, Flash, Supergirl and Captain America amongst the staff. 

Then it was November and the school bonfire night. Jamie came to that one and it was secret touches and handholds the whole night before hiding at the back while the fireworks went off and Jamie’s lips finally met hers. Then advent started and her and Jamie were pulling a tree into their apartment and decorating it with as much tinsel, fairy lights and, much to Jamie’s chagrin, mistletoe. 

Dani hung the mistletoe with a step ladder all over the apartment. In the hallway above the apartment and then another piece above their bed and another in the kitchen above where Jamie always sat and another above Jamie’s spot on the couch and another in the front door and then one above the counter in the shop. There was a lot of mistletoe and even more kisses. 

Her classroom was decorated a little differently. A plastic tree decorated by over-excited children’s handmade ornaments and too much tinsel around the edge of part of the classroom. Fairy lights were added later on as part of her passive-aggressive competition over whose classroom was the most festive, something the student’s very excitedly participated in while Hannah complained that the brightness of it all was going to destroy her eyes. 

They ended up deciding to have Christmas all together; Owen telling everyone else they weren’t even allowed to think about bringing food while Jamie and Dani volunteered to host and Rebecca volunteered to bring ‘copious amounts of alcohol’. 

Dani just had one thing left to do: find Jamie a present. Which ended up being presents after the ideas started flowing. Jamie was not a material person in any way which meant Dani decided to make her some things. 

She started with a jar which she then filled with little notes. The notes were colour-coded: blue for date ideas, pink for happy messages, green for thank you messages and yellow for ‘I love you’ notes (even if she hadn’t said those three words out loud yet). She then collected together all the secret polaroids she had been taking in the last few months and put them all in another slightly larger jar. She then wrapped them both and stuck them under the tree. 

Jamie watched her do it from the couch very intently. She coughed as Dani went to discard her marking from school on the table. 

“What?” Dani shrugged, getting her pencil case out and pulling out her purple pen (because red pen is just scary to look at) and getting started on the first sheet. 

“What did you just do, Poppins?”. 

“Put your presents under the tree,” Dani smiled, looking down at the maths on the page, a student had just forgotten number three when counting to ten. 

“First of all,” Jamie pushed herself up off the couch, discarding the book she was reading on the table in front of Dani. It was the first time Dani clocked the title, Anna Karenina, one of her own favourites. “Presents multiple?”. 

“Just small things,” Dani shrugged, her eyes trained on the book. She couldn’t quite believe Jamie was writing it. 

“And secondly, it’s the tenth of December. Fifteen days before Christmas. Do you know how much torture it is to know that they are there and I don’t know what they are?” Jamie sighed. 

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Dani shrugged, looking back at the marking. She was sure Lucy might need some extra help if she kept struggling so much in the lessons, she wasn’t picking things up slower than the other kids. 

“Okay,” Jamie slipped off the table and Dani heard her move through the apartment toward their bedroom and then she was returning with a wrapped gift in hand which she stuck under the tree next to the ones Dani had just placed. “Convince me it’s not torture,” she shrugged before picking up the book again, “Now if you’d excuse Anna’s about to make a big decision,”. 

Jamie was annoyingly right. Five days later, Dani found herself wanting to rip off the gift wrapping every single time she looked at that tree and every time she wasn’t looking at it, she was thinking about it. It was torture. Jamie’s smug smile didn’t make it any easier. 

Dani ended up, giving in on day six, marching into the store as soon as she was home from work and straight up to the counter. “You're right,” she admitted with a sigh. 

“About what? I’m right about a lot of things, Poppins,” Jamie smiled, biting her lip as she leant against the counter smugly. 

“The present. I want to open it,” she laughed, “It’s just sitting there like a bomb I can’t do anything about,” she complained, slumping against the counter, “And now it’s there and it’s always there and we have so many days left till Christmas,”. 

Dani felt Jamie’s breath next to her, “I’m so sorry, babe,” she whispered, “But this was all your fault,”. 

“I’m putting them out on Christmas Eve next year,” Dani mumbled into the counter. 

“Next year?” Jamie questioned and Dani pressed her lips together as she looked up at her girlfriend. Did she go too far? She really shouldn't be allowed to speak. 

“Maybe, you know if tha-” Dani’s ramble was cut off by Jamie’s lips. 

“I’m fine with next year,” Jamie smiled as she pulled away. 

“Cool,” Dani nodded, pressing her lips together. The three words she wanted to say blaring like an alarm in her mind. 

It was Jamie who turned off the alarm, to continue the metaphor, three days after that. Dani was trying to make a cup of tea for Jamie again and spectacularly failing. It was her seventeenth time in the last two days since Jamie had fallen sick with the worst cold and Dani was determined to nurse her back to health. She took a sip and it tasted marginally okay, maybe even drinkable. 

“Oh god,” Jamie croaked as she saw the cup of tea. 

“I think it’s okay this time,” Dani pressed her lips together as she sat on the edge of the bed. Jamie took a cautious sip that turned into a longer sip. 

“You’re learning, Poppins,” Jamie started to laugh but it descended into a cough. Dani leaned forward and rubbed a hand across her back. 

“Honestly, it was my fifth one this morning. I went out and got extra tea bags before you woke up just for practice,” Dani confessed as Jamie’s cough died down. 

Jamie shook her head, a soft smile on her face. “I love you,” her croaky whisper was barely audible and Dani barely noticed the words at first. When she processed the words a second later, she just found herself getting into the bed and snuggling up next to Jamie. 

“I love you too,” she whispered, turning on the TV and letting whatever crap was on, on a Saturday morning play. She didn’t care what was on TV, she just cared she was in the arms of her girlfriend who loved her. 

Christmas came and went after that with the highlight being Christmas Eve when their patience finally wore thin and they tore open their presents at ten o’clock at night. 

“You first,” Dani smiled as she sat on the floor in front of the tree and in front of Jamie who had a smile of childlike glee. 

“Okay,” Jamie smiled, tearing open the wrapping rather quickly with no care for the neatness of it. The polaroid jar fell out first and she picked it up and looked at the label at the front. “When did you take this many polaroids, Poppins?” she asked, opening it up slowly and pulling the first one out, “When did you take this one?” she laughed, a blush crawling up her face. Dani shuffled over and looked over her shoulder. It was one of Jamie when she had had jam explode all over her. 

  
“When I went to get you a change of clothes,” Dani laughed at the memory, it was quite obvious it was taken from a hiding spot with half the wall in the way. Jamie picked out another one. Of the Moonflower. 

“I’ve never captured it before,” Jamie breathed in awe as she studied the polaroid. 

“It took a torch and late-night wake-ups,” Dani smiled, “Look at the other jar,” she nudged her shoulder. 

“Okay,” Jamie picked it up and looked at the jar. The label was a bit more detailed with it all colour coded. “I love you notes,” she read out, “You made this before we even said it, Poppins,” she looked up at Dani. 

“Well, some of us are sometimes a little nervous when it comes to some things,” Dani sighed and Jamie just laughed and pressed their lips together in a kiss that couldn't be deepened because of their huge smiles but Dani didn’t care, she was so happy. 

“I love you,” Jamie smiled as she pulled away. 

“I love you too,” Dani smiled. 

“Your turn,” Jamie reached over and handed Dani her present. Dani opened it carefully and slowly, her fingers running under each of the seams before she pulled the paper off. She was holding it the wrong way round. It was a frame. She turned it over and sucked in a breath. 

It was a page of her favourite book of all time (Pride and Prejudice) and it was her favourite moment but that was just a background, in the foreground, there was a pressed moonflower. 

“I did manage to save a moonflower,” Jamie whispered, looking over Dani’s shoulder. 

Dani just squeezed her eyes closed, nodding, and leant back into Jamie. “Thank you,” she whispered. Jamie just pressed a kiss to her cheek where a tear had fallen. 

The next big thing was New Year’s Eve. Owen hosted this time at the coffee shop and Dani almost found the night surreal. She was happy and had no regrets, something she definitely didn’t expect at the start of this year when she flew over to London from Philadelphia. But she was standing surrounded by people she could call her friends while her girlfriend held her close and she could honestly say that  1987 was the best year of her life. 

**Author's Note:**

> hi, i'm avery. 
> 
> you can always check me out on [insta](https://www.instagram.com/trixicbean/) and [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/trixicbean) if you want to chat about lesbians and breakdown over everything. 
> 
> yes, i trash thatcher in this. i'm from Northumberland, i'm biased but she did implement a law that banned teaching and mentioning LGBTQ+ in schools 
> 
> please leave a comment and a kudo maybe please


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